Daniel Cormier supports the idea of Khamzat Chimaev at light heavyweight.
UFC middleweight champion Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) has been actively calling out 205-pound champ Alex Pereira, and been linked to a bout with former champ Jiri Prochazka. Chimaev is yet to defend his middleweight title after dominating Dricus Du Plessis to claim it at UFC 319.
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After training footage emerged of Chimaev training with ex-champ Luke Rockhold and former title challenger Khalil Rountree, Cormier doesn’t see size being an issue for Chimaev, who started out his career as a welterweight.
“I thought that if Khamzat were to fight at 205, he would be running up against guys who would just be too big for him, and that at some point, that has to become an issue,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Then I saw a video of him sparring with Khalil Rountree. His back looked massive. He looks like a 205-pound fighter already.
“And then I watched a video of him sparring with Luke Rockhold, who is all of 6-(foot)-4 and 220 something pounds right now. I’m not talking about the skill level of Rockhold today. I’m talking about the size of Rockhold today. Khamzat Chimaev looked just as big, if not bigger. Then when you watch the videos, you watch the sparring, you watch him and Khalil Rountree striking, it looks to me like Khamzat is winning the striking against Khalil Rountree, who is an amazing striker. I watched him kick with Luke, and he’s kicking with the same power as Luke. I’ve got to be honest: I don’t know that this kid could not fight at 205 pounds.”
However, the idea of light heavyweight was shut down by UFC CEO Dana White, who said he’d rather see Chimaev defend his middleweight title first.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Cormier confident Khamzat Chimaev can compete at 205 pounds
